Wolf Hollow

Chapter 17

Darren didn't take the bus anymore, even though Theo and his crew were calm now. He was almost becoming friends with them now. He'd usually walk to the real estate agency and hang out with Kent for a while.

Coach Lander waited behind the fence for his team to arrive. Theo was one of them, but he blended in so well that no one could make it out.

The coach didn't refrain from being harsh when Darren and a few other boys arrived late.

Coach eyed down Darren. "You don't make it to practice on Monday and now you're late today?"

"I take it you aren't a very understanding coach."

"There won't be any back talk or you'll be off the team." Coach Lander cleared his throat.

This was one of the worst coaches Darren ever had. The man thought he was on top of everyone. He thought he could control them.

"Team up with a partner," The coach said. "and pick any position. Just for today."

The only person on the team that Darren knew was Theo. They were cool now anyway, right?

They picked center field first. Coach would use a pitching machine, have one guy hit, and have the others field, and then everyone would rotate positions. It wasn't too complicated.

After everyone had been at bat, Coach gathered everyone back up. "With your same partner, I want you to throw back and forth, then we'll move on."

Theo eyed Darren up and down, as if he couldn't believe he was officially stuck partnered with him. They stepped away from everyone else.

"So," Theo started awkwardly. "is Eleanor your girlfriend? Or that other girl? What's her name, Rachel?"

Darren snagged the ball in his glove. "Eleanor is. What's it to you? It's not your business."

"You don't have to be rude. I was gonna tell you I was happy for you."

"Yeah well I'm not happy in my life." Darren admitted.

He threw the ball back with a curve that flew past Theo's glove. Theo ran back to get it and scooped it up.

"I think I know how you feel man," Theo stepped up. "my mom's gone. It's just my Dad and I. And my aunt too. It doesn't feel good, or right."

Darren thought for a second and then replied to him. "My dad was abusive. He's not in my life anymore. My mom made sure of that."

After that, everything broke into silence except the other boys talking and throwing and the sounds of balls hitting gloves. It was good though, because coach called them back to group up a while later.

__________________________________

Darren didn't think about going to his mom's office or Kent's office. Instead, he walked all the way home in the cold. It was going to snow anytime soon.

The chill rushed against his face and he felt like he was getting frostbite or hypothermia. The sweat from practice was already gone. He didn't know how much longer he could walk in this cold. But home was warm.

He could finally see the street sign through the foggy and cold air. He bolted into a run toward the street. He could see his house and then Albert's. And the barn.

Darren looked over at Albert's house. There were red and blue lights and police cars. He stopped right where he was and felt like collapsing on the near icy road. Then he decided to walk closer.

Albert was in handcuffs. Darren spotted the officer he'd seen before, Officer Teasley with another officer. He couldn't believe it. After last night in the woods, he'd saved Albert's life. Now it was all for nothing because the man would be rotting away in jail.

Darren remembered the last thing Albert said to him the night before. He said that if he were to die, he wanted Darren to bury him up there with the loved ones he buried. It sounded weird that he wouldn't want a funeral.

Tears flowed in Albert's eyes as Officer Teasley tightened the handcuffs and pushed him against the police car. Another police car zoomed around Darren, who was still standing in the middle of the road dazing in his mind.

Darren hurried to the car and screamed. "He's just an old man! How much time does he even have left? Just for him to spend it in Jail!"

Albert groaned as Officer Teasley squeezed the handcuffs still on his wrists. "I can't get a breath out."

Darren had seen plenty of cop movies where they tell the person that anything they say or do can be used against them in the court. Would they think Albert was faking that he couldn't breathe?

Albert's face started to turn red, and then pale. He wasn't speaking, nor was he moving anymore. He fell to the side with the handcuffs still pressed tightly on his wrists.

"Check his pulse." Officer Teasley said. The other officer refused and said it was no good to and that it was better to let him go peacefully.

I didn't know CPR but I wanted to try. I got on top of him with one hand over the other and pressed down into his chest for a few seconds. Nothing. More than likely, it tore his ribs.

"Good try son," Officer Teasley put his hand on Darren's shoulder. "but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do now. You don't want us to take him to the emergency room, do you?"

"I don't think so." Darren told him.

__________________________________

Kent made hot chocolate for Leah, Darren, Felix, and Eleanor. Darren had to fill Eleanor and Felix in on what happened to Albert. He was sure everyone would know about it by the end of the week, especially at school. It would definitely fill the newspapers.

The officers told Darren it was legal to bury a body on private property, as long as you didn't murder them.

Darren couldn't even drink the hot chocolate. He was sick to his stomach. He didn't even feel like listening to Eleanor play the piano or his mom try to make jokes to lighten the mood.

Everything was going downhill from here, especially because Darren knew the truth. The truth that there was someone else out murdering people, not Albert. It was almost like a movie about a murder case.

Now that Albert was dead, who would they blame if someone else was murdered? Would they say it was his spirit roaming free in the air to kill people? Even the officers knew Albert wasn't the recent serial killer.

The fireplace felt amazing to Darren, but he couldn't bear the thought of what he would have to deal with soon. The thoughts sent chills to his spine. Everything was surely going downhill.

He was lost in thought when Eleanor snuck behind him and gave him a hug. They were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"Aren't you going to drink your hot chocolate?" She asked.

"I feel sick." Darren told her. He wasn't lying. He did feel sick and he couldn't control anything going on around him.

She crawled next to him and let him lay on her shoulder. "Darren, you can't control everything. You just have to let it happen."

He couldn't let this all happen. He felt weird for even starting to feel remotely close to Albert, and itching for more of his advice. He would've even gone as far as to do the task Albert wanted, which was murdering someone.

Darren's dad was still somewhere around wolf hollow, and there was still a serial killer roaming free. Albert was the least of everyone's worries, and now he was dead.